Apple Raisin Monkey bread is kind of like if a Chelsea Bun married an apple pie and had a cake baby. This recipe is made from the same sweet dough recipe as my Sticky Chelsea Bun and includes a wonderful mixture of apples, raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. You can make the dough the day ahead and store it in the fridge overnight. You will just need to take it out and keep it covered to come to room temperature and rise before prepping to bake.
The prep involves cutting and forming the dough into 24 individual-sized balls, rolling them in melted butter, tossing them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and then alternatively layering them in a bundt pan with a wonderful apple raisin filling. Absolutely no one is saying this is a low-fat treat.
This Apple Raisin Monkey Bread recipe is done in a bundt pan but you could also prepare it in a loaf pan or even muffin tins for individual servings. It’s a wonderfully decadent sweet pull-apart treat that is as fun to make as it is to eat.
Apple Raisin Monkey Bread
Ingredients
Sweet Dough
- 2/3 cup milk
- 5 tbsp sugar divided
- 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted softened butter
Apple & Raisin mixture
- 3 apples peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 2 tbsp unsalted melted butter
Dough ball coating
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup melted butter
Instructions
Prepping the dough
- Warm milk to lukewarm (110 degrees) and transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes or until slightly foaming.
- In a separate large bowl, combine flour, remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar and salt. Mix with dough hook until nicely mixed.
- Add in milk yeast mixture to the flour and mix with dough hooks. It will start to form into a ball.
- Add in eggs and beat after each addition. Continue mixing with dough hooks to ensure dough and egg are evenly mixed.
- Cut in the butter in 3 separate additions and continue mixing until the dough is soft and well blended.
- In a separate bowl, brush with 1 tsp of melted butter.
- Remove dough from the mixing bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed for a couple of minutes to form into a ball. Place in dough in butter lined bowl and brush with butter. Cover and let sit for 2 hours.
- Remove dough ball from bowl and cut into 4 even sections. Flattened out each section and cut them into 6 even pieces. You should be finished with 24 equal sections. Once finished roll each section into a ball.
Prepping Apple Raisin mixture
- Combine apples, raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar in a sauce pan. Add melted butter and blend. Bring mixture to medium-low heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Set aside and remove from heat.
Prepping dough balls
- Pour melted butter into a bowl.
- Add sugar and cinnamon to a bowl and mix until blended.
- Roll each ball into butter and then into the sugar mixture. Set aside for preparation.
Prepping bread
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a bundt pan with butter or cooking spray.
- Pour a few tablespoons of the apple raisin mixture into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place the prepared balls evenly around the bottom of the bundt pan. Pour a few tablespoons of apple raisin mixture on top of the balls. Repeat the process of layering the dough balls and apple raisin mixture until all the balls and apple mixture has been used.
- Place prepared cake in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked evenly. Test with a toothpick to ensure the dough is thoroughly cooked. Remove from oven and let cool before turning on to a cake plate. Serve and enjoy!
Turns me into a monkey every time!